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Q & A (1990)

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83 %
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Reviews Counted: 18

Fresh: 15

Rotten:3

Average Rating: 6.6/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 12 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Taking its title from the stenographer's record in a criminal investigation, Sidney Lumet's brutal look at police corruption peers at the rotten center of crime-fighting institutions and spotlights... Taking its title from the stenographer's record in a criminal investigation, Sidney Lumet's brutal look at police corruption peers at the rotten center of crime-fighting institutions and spotlights one man's naïve attempt to intervene. Timothy Hutton is young District Attorney Al Reilly, called in on a cut and dry case. In the seemingly simple investigation of the shooting of a Puerto Rican drug lord by supposed model cop Brennan (Nick Nolte), Reilly discovers telling inconsistencies and delves further. Despite the stern advice from Chief of Homicide Quinn to resolve the case and quickly clear Brennan, the older cop's suspicious behavior and conflicting stories spur Reilly to delve further. Reilly's former fiancée, Nancy, complicates matters because she is now involved with the prime witness, Bobby Texador (Armand Assanté). With this emotional baggage, Reilly uncovers a vast web of corruption stretching from Manhattan to Puerto Rico that leads all the way to Quinn. Brennan realizes that Reilly is on to him, and he becomes ruthless, stopping at nothing to prevent the truth from surfacing. The gritty and poisonous world of hardened urban cops surfaces as Lumet illustrates the crusading Reilly's uncompromising honesty against the landscape of racism, lies, and illicit allegiances that lurk below every surface of the city. [More]

Starring: Nick Nolte, Timothy Hutton, Armand Assante, Patrick O'Neal

Starring: Nick Nolte, Timothy Hutton, Armand Assante, Patrick O'Neal, Paul Calderon, Lee Richardson, Luis Guzman, Charles Dutton, Dominic Chianese

Director: Sidney Lumet

Director: Sidney Lumet
Screenwriter: Sidney Lumet
Producer: Arnon Milchan, Burtt Harris

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 4, 2003

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Q & A

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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A New York at odds with Woody Allen's, albeit also filled with angst; where Allen dissects the middle class in the throes of its own insecurities, Lumet cruises the underbelly

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
06/19/09
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
08/11/08
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Lumet pulls no punches showing a contemporary NYC plagued by racism, violence, crime, tribalism, cronyism, and corruption.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/05/06
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Another tour-de-force for Lumet

comment Comment
03/11/06
Clint Morris
Moviehole
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Time Out

Sidney Lumet's third film about corruption in the NYC police department is a gritty, gripping and profane thriller with a powerhouse performance by an intimidating Nick Nolte.

comment Comment
01/26/06
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

No review available.

comment Comment
06/12/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Underrated crime drama with a great performance by Nick Nolte.

comment Comment
04/02/05
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
04/30/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
03/07/04
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review

No review available.

comment Comment
02/27/04
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

The type of film that wastes a good afternoon with delicious performances and weak writing.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
11/15/03
Wesley Lovell
Apollo Guide

A gritty and morally complex cop thriller featuring a haymaker of a performance from Nolte.

comment Comment
09/25/03
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

No review available.

comment Comment
09/02/03
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/03
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Unsettling film about the racial bigotry which permeates every facet of urban living.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
07/10/03
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
02/02/03
Josh Ralske
All Movie Guide

A ramshackle police drama that resides in the upper-tier of Lumet's ouevre.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
02/02/03
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/10/01
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
 
 
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Latest News for Q & A

March 09, 2006: Trailer Bulletin: Find Me Guilty
Wondering what Vin Diesel's been up to lately? Well, he's been off making a fact-based courtroom flick with ... legendary director Sidney Lumet, that's who. Entitled "Find... More...

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